I'm not sure how to write about Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me. In some ways, there is nothing for me to say at all, because Coates writes so beautifully, so powerfully ... and because I am an alien in his galaxy. In Coates' galaxy, the inhabitants are defined by the injustices committed against them. It seems, in fact, as though not only the inhabitants, but also the planets and the stars themselves, have been arranged by injustices - pulled into new alignments by crashing into another galaxy: ours.

The separate galaxies named in Between the World and Meare the white community in America (or rather, 'the people who believe they are white') and the black community in America (or more accurately, the groups of people of colour against whom white America has committed centuries of injustice).

Unlike the beautiful cosmic dance of actual collisions between galaxies, our collision has been head-on, bone-cracking and skin-tearing. And it has been unequal. Instead of both galaxies acting on each other with proportionate force, our galaxy has decimated theirs. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a car crash: We rammed their car into a tree, and commenced stealing everything and everyone out of it that we could. I don't think we've ever stopped stealing, even now.

Ta-Nehisi Coates speaking at the University of Michigan. Coates is a regular contributor for The Atlantic. Between the World and Me is his second book.

the unbearable lightness of reading
​But while I'm not sure how to write about Coates' book, or what to say exactly, it feels important to me that I do write about it - or at least, about how it hit me. I read the book over several days, slowly, sadly, pausing regularly to absorb things that I knew categorically couldn't be true - but that were indeed true, whether I believed them or not. I cried more than once.

Now, I feel what could only be described as a protective instinct - a desire to shield his body with mine, to protect Coates and his family from the injustices that I know I cannot stop. For Coates (and probably for his wife, his son, and many, many others), standing defiant against these injustices appears to be synonymous with everyday living. I feel sad, heavy, insignificant: a child trying to protect a cliff face from the tide.

​I don't know what else to do but write about it.

This sadness I'm feeling is of a new kind. It is not a pitiable condition; rather, it feels achingly human. Make no mistake that it is sadness, and it is pain. Unlike past pains, though, this pain integrates with me rather than carving out my insides. It is the pain of loving humans, and the pain of seeing others' suffering.
​

The collision between our galaxies has been, perhaps, more like a car crash: We rammed their car into a tree and commenced stealing everything out of it that we could.

I don't think we ever stopped.

frustrationFilled with this sadness, I find it frustrating and saddening that, for so many people, books like Between the World and Me continue to attract vilification. Of course, it's not just books. We could extend that to any mode of expression covering bigotry in any way. Example: Recently, The Guardian posted anexcellent, constructive video about working against racism. Let's take a look at the comments section of a video that dares to mention the 'r' word.

(Is this a trigger warning thing? I honestly don't know. There's nothing too explicit ... but some of these comments are definitely racist.)

The popular tactic of distracting from the discussion by attacking the speaker is the reason that discussions about bigotry move so very slowly. I'd love to move on to something more interesting.

﻿﻿Now, any of these comments could be written by a troll. But I don't think so. I think that, by and large, these comments reflect the actual views of people confronted with the truths of racism. There's the old adage that the best defence is a good offence: when you feel attacked, you go on the attack, distracting the conversation from you and your behaviour. Classic tactic. It's probably not even consciously done.

This tactic - distracting from the discussion by attacking the speaker - is the reason that discussions about racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism and other kinds of bigotry proceed so. very. slowly. We don't seem to be able to get anywhere as long as people continue to cry out, "It's not me! It's you! I haven't done anything - you're just making trouble and accusing me!" It's really becoming a tremendously boring refrain. Yawn. Can we move on to something more interesting than your cognitive dissonance, please?
​

...

Powered by Cincopa Video Cloud for Business solution.racist comments sectionNo one mentioned a specific ethnicity - but that's not going to stop you, is it?originaldate1/20/2016 11:04:03 PMwidth491height532What? Just ... what?originaldate1/20/2016 11:04:51 PMwidth469height555No, racism is not natural. And you - Shame Guy - if you want to be ashamed, be ashamed of being a jerk.originaldate1/20/2016 11:05:42 PMwidth491height559You get that privilege, racism and positive contributions can exist at the same time, right?originaldate1/20/2016 11:52:18 PMwidth487height551Right. This is getting old. I'm out.originaldate1/20/2016 11:54:18 PMwidth487height555

light-bulb moment
​Just now, I was looking through Facebook for this article, looking for that Guardian video with the, erm, 'prolific' comments section. And, I think I've found it: the way to write about Coates' book. The answer is that I should write about it by notwriting about it. I need to listen.

The light bulb clicked when I watched this excellent video featuring DeRay Mckesson and Stephen Colbert. (Side note: I found this video on a post by YouTuber Chescaleigh. If you are not following Chescaleighon YouTube, Twitter or Facebook, your life is incomplete. Her videos are hilarious, informative and heartbreaking - sometimes all at once.)
​I confess that I had not heard of DeRay Mckesson, and I am just loving how eloquent he is. Also, he is younger than me, and he's an educator and an activist. I feel in awe and under-accomplished all at once.

It's an 8-minute watch, and it's worth every second.
​

So the first step is clear - it's time to do some learning.

I honestly don't know what to do, or what to say about Coates or his book, that would help anyone. If I want to implement the lesson from DeRay and Stephen, though, I'll need to stop writing now and ask: How can I better see my privilege, and what are those privileges? What can I do? How can I be an ally?